The Seven Years
by Legend's Legacy
Summary: Aryll, the lost sister of Link, sets out on a journey to find her brother after she finds her surrogate mother dead. It starts out as the simple desire to find family, but things are never quite that simple in practice or reason. What evil will find her?
1. Chapter 1

Um, hi. This happens to be my first Zelda fic, and my second one ever, so if its no good that's why. And I don't really care if you flame, as long as I could possibly get something useful out of it. Anyway enjoy the story!

**The Seven Years**

The times were dark. Thieves roamed the country side in hopes of finding someone Tring to escape with their valuables still intact. Looters had left the country dry of its precious metals and stones, but that's not for what they hoped. Times like these were where the Gerudo got their reputations. If there was famine in Hyrule (as there was), then in Gerudo Valley millions would be dying that very moment, and millions more would be reduced to baggers. Three women were mounted atop their sickly horses, watching the town being looted and the already poor defenses being weakened. Why put yourself in danger when others are willing to do the work for you?

As they had anticipated, someone was Tring to run. They looked unarmed, and seemed to be carrying some serious heavy loot. He was wearing a long, dark cloak that covered him from head to toe. They could see him struggling with something but could not make out what just yet.

"Seems someone wants to escape with every piece of furniture they have, greedy bastard." There was hardy agreement, the three women harbored a spot of hatred and jealousy of the spoiled Hylians and Zoras that populated this town. They waited, by the sounds of it, the town's folk were being slaughtered. He would be out in a hurry.

They heard a horse neighing and the figure emerged with one. He clutched something to his chest and hunkered over something else. He seemed to have thrown on another, lighter cloak, this one reviled what the other one hid. He was already injured. The blood seeped through the light material making an obvious target of his shoulder. Now was time to make their move.

The three Gerudo women followed the lead of their pray and turned their horses around. They readied their bows and followed close behind him. He was headed down a well-traveled path, if someone found them stealing from him, they would be imprisoned. The general plan was to run him off the road into the wilderness. She saw her sisters speed up and surprise the lone rider while she slowed and pulled back her bow in anticipation of a struggle. The rider veered off to the left, away from the two sisters jeering at him. The bow-master let loose an arrow and was surprised to hear a woman's voice cry out in agony instead of a man's. Without looking she knew she had hit her target, the spot of blood that had stained the other rider's cloak. The woman was veering dangerously close to the forbidden woods. Her sisters ahead noticed and started to pull back, but she would not lose their fortune so quickly. She fitted another arrow and let it fly. It landed, with agonizing accuracy, next to the other arrow. While her other sisters fell back, she sped forwards to make her kill. She would not let her pray make it too far into woods.

Her horse was becoming agitated, she had rarely used force when dealing with her horse but it seemed now she would have to. She forced her horse to pursue through the row of trees that separated the cursed forest from the rest of the world. The woman's horse seemed to become panicked and suddenly stopped and bucked her off, running wildly back the way it came. She stopped her horse and dismounted for fear the same would happen to her should she force her horse to advance any further. The woman stumbled out of sight holding tight the two things she had brought with her.

The Gerudo woman followed cautiously. She was now on cursed land. She heard a thud as if something had fallen, and indeed something did. A few feet away she found what she had been hunting for, already dead. She crouched next to the body and started to examine it, the Hylian seemed to have sustained wounds other then that on her shoulder and the ones she had inflicted. She heard a twig snap and her head flew up, she was not willing to let her guard down for a second in these bewitched woods. Instead of finding some monster or blood thirsty creature, she was eye to eye with a little boy. He scrutinized this unfamiliar woman for a second before speaking.

"Baby?" he asked curiously and eyed the bundle still being clutched to the dead woman's chest. With that he waddled over to the corps and put his hands on her face. "Mama, mama. Mama!" he sung at her. The dead woman of corse, did nothing. The Gerudo stood paralyzed with horror. The lack of reaction from his recently discased mother miffed the boy. "No sleep!" he said. When she still did nothing, he raised the volume of his voice. "NO SLEEP!" She remained as dead as she was before, the only thing that changed was now the bundle was wailing and tiny fists and feet were beating against the cloth that held it. This seemed to distract the little boy for a second. He looked from the dead woman to the wailing child. "Baby!" he said enthusiastically.

The Gerudo was speechless, had she drove the nail into the coffin of a woman, like herself, merely tring to save her family? Had she _killed_ a mother of two? What purpose did her death truly serve? She had nothing, only them. The Gerudo felt a horrible sense of despair. It was _her_ fault. _Her_ fault these innocent children no longer had anyone to love them, watch them, raises them...She watched the young boy poke at the baby, making it scream louder. He couldn't understand. The tears of regret fell fast. Wether it was the majic of these curious woods or something missing from her past that brought her to tears so quickly, she did not know. All she knew was the guilt would not let her walk away, she would be bound to these poor souls for the rest of her life.

Without realizing it, she had reached over her victim and lifted the crying baby into her arms. The boy looked at her with interest, what was she going to do?

"I... I'm sorry." She whispered to him. "I don't know wh-" At that moment she was ceased by the need to leave this place, she could feel it start to change her inside. She stood to leave, grabbing the boy by the arm as she did. The boy cried and pulled away, surprised she looked back at him. Was he chasing a... Fairy? She stepped forwards to try and catch him but a twang of pain shot through her, she needed to leave this place, _now!_ She looked at the baby in her arms. She was settling down, finally. The boy could not be helped now, she could only save this one if she had any intentions of saving either of them. She made up her mind and started running, her horse had abandon her, she had to get out. She had to raise this child, her baby, her Aryll.

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The years had passed and the girl was now eight. She was an adventurous girl. She was curious and lovable as well. Which was all the better for her because curious and adventurous aspects were always getting her in trouble. The Gerudo woman had raised her in a town not far from the one her true mother had fled from. She was happy, despite being a social out cast. She was obviously _not_ her mother's child. She lived a hard life compared to fellow Hylians, due to her association with a thief. However, she did not realize this, for no one had told her. Why spoil her happiness?

Despite Aryll's apparent happiness, her mother worried constantly. She was the out cast of both worlds. The Hylians would not accept her for she was a Gerudo, and the Gerudos would no longer accept her because she had adopted a hylian and refused to give her up. Being the outcast was, society would shun her. That was no problem for her, she could handle it, it was for Aryll that she worried. She provided Aryll every thing she could to make her happy, healthy and clean. Even if it meant working herself to the bone.

Very few people trusted her with anything, so she always seemed to pick up odd jobs at odd hours. That seemed to be the case with this job. This one seemed particularly reckless and dangerous and had ridiculously low pay, but she had no other choice. Her former employer had some misplaced a few items and _she_ had been accused of thieving. Well, this job was far more dangerous then the last. What it was, she was not yet sure, she was told she would receive her instructions when she got to the grave yard. She knew she was taking a huge risk this time, but she was in danger of being jailed, she had not payed her taxes that month.

She looked down at her sleeping daughter and sighed. She scribbled a note explaining that she was working and not to worry, and pushed it onto a nail sticking out from the wall. Since she didn't know what she was to do, she had no way to estimate how long this job would take. She set out to meet whatever shady charter she would have to too get her job.

She didn't turn to the dirt path that led to the grave yard behind 'The Temple', instead she stalked the deserted main roads. She had gotten specific directions to meet her correspondent in Kakariko Village grave yard. Kakariko Village was fifteen miles from where she was. She may or may not have a horse to use. She prayed that the goddesses be with her as she would need their blessings to come home safe tonight.

As it was, she had a horse to use, but the goddesses would not grant her safe passage tonight. When she arrived at the grave yard she was ambushed, her sisters were waiting for her. Waiting to kill she who turned her back on her own kind. Only the horse returned at sunrise. And the entire time, Aryll was dreaming. Dreaming of death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, this is chapter two. No one reviewed, but I expected that. No one could get past the second paragraph without becoming sick I suppose. Or no one has read it yet, I'm updating this chapter pretty soon after the first one . . . Oh well. Review please, or not, your choice.**

_There were so many monsters! _Aryll twitched in her sleep._ Where did they come from? Who sent them?_ She twisted the blankets nervously as she dreamed. _How could I get rid of them? Why are they after me? _Her eyes fluttered, but she did not wake. _Why is no one helping me? Where is Mother? _Her hands clutched the blankets tighter, she saw the monsters clear to reveal her mother in a sorry state. _Mamma!_ She tried to call, but her mouth would not work.

"_Aryll" _Aryll wanted to run to her but her feet would not move. "_Aryll, baby. I have to tell you something important. I wrote you a letter a long time ago." _Her mother coughed up blood. At this point Aryll realized she was dying. _"I locked in a drawer, the one in my desk. I have the key, you have to find me Aryll, before they take it." _But before who took it? _"Aryll, wake up!"_

Aryll sat straight upright, screaming for her mother. It took her a full minute to realize that she had been dreaming, nothing more. She wiped the sweat from her brow and started to sink back into reality. As far as she could tell, it was just a nightmare. Wether she had been frightened or not, she had work to do. The sun was already up and the house hold chores were plentiful, it would take her all morning and part of the afternoon to finish.

Aryll was a hard-working girl but she had the tendency to let her mind wander. As was happening now as she dressed herself, not even considering washing now with the time constraints. She was thinking about going to Hyrule Market (her mother had promised she would take her once she had some spending money.) The past two months, Aryll had been doing odd jobs for the neighbors in her spare time. She absent-mindedly walked out the front door to be treated with a shock. The sun was full in her face, noon. Why had her mother allowed her to sleep so long? Come to think about it, where was her mother? She hadn't been there when Aryll woke up.

Aryll scanned the little bit of land they owned. She was nowhere in sight. Confused, she walked back inside. It wouldn't be the first time she had missed seeing a note. Almost immediately, she saw it. A note stuck to the wall on a nail sticking out. The note was simple, it read:

'Aryll,

I may not be home when you find this note. I'm not sure how long this will take. I'm working so if I'm not home, don't worry. AND DON'T TRY SKIPPING YOUR CHORES! I'll make you do double tomorrow if you do.'

Typical, her mother was probably doing another reckless, ridiculous, maybe even an illegal job. (Though her mother denies ever doing anything illegal sense, she found her.) She couldn't keep a job to save her life, literally. She had been through three jobs in two weeks and had been fired from each one.

Well, the sun _was_ high and there was much to do. There was nothing to do but her chores. As the day progressed, she finished her chores and her mother still wasn't home. Aryll started to worry. Her mother wasn't _that_ slow. She started to work on her mother's chores for lack of any thing to do. She glanced up at the sun. It was moving across the sky awfully slow. The chores were dwindling and she was becoming hungry. The sun was setting and she was all alone. Her mother was usually the one who made supper. Aryll made do with what she could handle. Aryll was anxious now, where could her mother had gone? When the sun had set and the moon was starting to rise, Aryll could no longer handle it, she had to do something . . . Right?

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Ichiro and his step son ran a ranch, nothing fancy like LonLon Ranch, but it did well. He made it a point to sell to everyone who could pay for it, everyone. That meant Gerudo, Hylian, Zoras, Gorons, Deku, outlaws, thieves, murders, men, women, everyone whom he could con some rupees out of. He was used to getting the ones on the run, after all, it was a ranch.

What he wasn't used to, was children. He personally had never had children. He married his wife when her child was old enough to look after himself. In other words, an adult. So when a _child_ walked into his ranch, he wasn't sure how to address the situation. She was a pretty little thing, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a round face. With out asking, he knew, she was there for business. She asked some questions, he answered. Well, he answered depending on how manny rupees he got. Well, he answered in the end. When she was done with that, she bought a horse.

_Well. _He thought to himself. _That was an odd little girl._ _Why in the world would she care for a Gerudo?_ Well, it was none of his business, his business was the ranch, and the ranch was making him money. A fat lot of money that little girl had made him, and that was all he cared for. But still, that _was_ an odd little girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well! Chapter three . . . No reviews . . . Oh well! Chapter three it is then!**

The horse was far too big for her. Or, she was far too small for the horse . . . She had no idea where to look, but look she must. It wasn't fair of her mother to worry her like this. Fair, however, was _never_ how things had been for her. She had gotten used to it. Nine years had worn away at her.

She had little experience in how to ride a horse, so it wasn't long before the horse was merely wandering the vast expanses of Hyrule Fields'. She was worried for herself now too. She had no idea where she was. The sun had set and she was getting cold. Her horse was showing no signs of stopping for the night.

It meandered toward a small stream and across an old bridge. Aryll had been dozing when suddenly the horse gave a loud whiney and an odd sort of half jump forwards. In her groggy state, she couldn't tell _for the life of her_ why the horse would do such an odd thing. She blinked and gathered her senses. She looked around and noticed they were going up a well traveled (and well worn) staircase.

Before she could wonder where she was, a large sign above a gate loomed before her. "Kakariko Village." It read. The horse wandered toward a small lean-to and stopped entirely. This, she presumed, was the end of her ride. She dismounted rather ungracefully by sliding off onto the ground. The horse seemed to snicker at her and she glared at it. "You don't have to be mean about it . . . " she muttered even though she knew the horse couldn't understand her and she knew the horse wasn't really laughing at her. The horse turned its head away as it "sniggered", none the less.

Aryll got up, brushed off her rump and looked around again. It was dark. The lack of night life was unnerving to her. Not a light was lit, not a door slammed, not even a coco clucked in its sleep. Even if it was scoundrels lurking out of sight of the moon light, it would have been comforting were _something_ there at all. The moon its self seemed to dim in an effort to guard against any unwanted attention that night. This should have been a warning to Aryll to turn back, but, not being superstitious, she was not likely to regard these ill-happenings as omens. On she pressed. There were two roads of which Aryll could have taken, one led up to a cluster of homes and shops and disappeared into a great, smoldering mountain. Another led down into what appeared to be the heart of the darkness, and that one she followed.

The darkness was surprisingly empty as she walked quietly through it, not wanting to disturb any thing should the sleeping evil slumber light. The residences became fewer and shabbier as she inched down the dirt road, eventually thinning out to none. The dirt road turned into a small path and it led into a protected opening which the darkness seemed to originate from. On she walked, her foot steps becoming quieter and quieter.

Aryll could feel the air around her suddenly change cooler as if she had walked into a wall of cold. She walked through a small fence only to find her self in the presence of another a short ways away. There was a garden of bushy plants who's purple flowers were just opening for the night. An open gate stood tall and morbid, welcoming in the dead and their mourners but rejecting all joy that may wish to pass through. An ornate announcement was proclaimed in steel above it, "Kakariko Grave Yard" it said. A simple, yet informative statement. Aryll paused to absorb all it's stillness of death, and then proceeded.

A shiver ran the length of her spine and through her arms and legs. The night got colder still when she passed through this gate. She gazed at all the head stones, a testament to all that have passed. She stepped lightly once again and tried to avoid noise all together. The paths between the gravestones were well tended to and mostly made of stone. As she traveled the path she only got colder, the chill of death only getting stronger. She came to a large grave stone that boasted royal names and was covered in the sacred triangles. Curiously, she peaked behind it.

Had her fear of awakening the dead been any less, she would have screamed. The tears dropped onto the cold ground and froze there. She fell to her knees as her legs gave out. The world seemed stacked against her, unwilling to relent in its torment. She had found what she sought, she had found her mother.


	4. Chapter 4

**SOMEONE REVIEWED! You don't know how thankful that makes me feel! It's amazing! Not only did someone (actually several some ones) care enough to read it, but they liked it too! Amazing! **

The rain started but Aryll refused to leave. She felt as though time had restarted, reset to zero, leaving her with nothing. The rain persisted, increasing the amount of drops that fell in an attempt to distract her from her loss. Cliche, though it was, the rain was fitting. The goddesses themselves felt sorrow for her and her loss.

She sat there, now relaxed against the back of the grave stone. It occurred to her at one point to return to her humble home, but what would be the purpose? To titty up and go to bed? There would be no point in that, in a few weeks time she would be imprisoned for the taxes. No, there would be no use in doing anything any more. The tears that had slowed now seeped from her eyes with new determination. She might as well sit here, waiting for the numbness to spread from her fingers and toes to her arms and legs and eventually to her heart.

She reached out and touched the lips, still formed in surprise. She couldn't bring herself to move from her mother's side. How long she had been sitting there she could not know, but she swore she could see the first glow of the sunrise trying to penetrate the thick rain clouds. The adrenalin and sorrow that had kept her awake all night could not keep the tiredness out of her heart. She shivered and her eyes drooped. She wanted to surrender to the sleep, the dreams. Just as her head started to nod, she noticed something that she had never seen on her mother before. A neckless was draped around her neck, tucked neatly under her tunic.

Curiosity over taking tiredness, she reached forwards and brought the pendant from the far reaches of her mother's bosom. Rather than a locket or precious stone, the thin silver chain held a key. Luckily for her, there weren't to many things that locked in her hut. There were only two to be precise, the front door and a shabby dresser her mother insisted on keeping despite the space restrictions. The door locked from the inside and the inside only, so that required no key.

Aryll could definitely feel the warmth of the sun now, she could hear sounds from the far off village that made the night feel thoroughly vanquished. Panic set in, what if someone found her with a body and thought she did it? Most certainly, she would be jailed and her key would be taken away so that she could never find out what it opened. She looked down at her mother and shut her eyes and folded her hands and stood. She felt weak, though from exhaustion or sorrow she knew not. None the less she picked herself up and left that dreary place.

She passed through Kakariko in a dream like state. None of it was real enough to absorb. Soon she was back on that silly horse again, wandering through the fields. She sighed and looked down at the horse incredulously (for the horse seemed in high moods today) and sighed. "Just take me home . . . " she requested and the horse complied.

oOo0oOo

She could remember now, a long time ago in the forbidden woods . . . She had a daughter and a son . . . A fairy took her son and a Gerudo took her daughter. But only after she had passed, this she knew. She was Hylian her last life, she knew this too. It must have been by divine order that she be near her daughter, she was her horse.

She was just a little too big for her daughter, making it awkward when she got on and off. She was yet to be full grown but according to the rancher, she was old enough to be ridden. If, of corse, the rider is very small. If her daughter had been any heavier, she would not be able to carry her. Having the little girl sit on her back brought back all sorts of memories. Memories of their home, her family, her husband . . . He had been a soldier, this much was apparent by the way he dressed for work. She couldn't remember every thing but she remembered losing it all. There was fire and people crying and screaming. She had run, and she had been shot. This would be the last time she saw her son but fate gave her a chance to be with her daughter. She knew why she was reborn a horse now, to transport her child safely, then and there, she vowed to serve no other. Only this sweet little girl would ride her . . .

**Is it weird, the horse thing? I mean the horse has her real mother's soul if you didn't pick up on that . . . Yeah, it's kinda short too, generally I try to make it as long as possible but this time I got lazy. Sorry 'bout that. So, what do you think this time around? Did this chapter ruin it? Things seem to be moving along really slow. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Story plot. Yes this story has a plot . . . kinda . . . sometimes. Not a very original one but what can I do about that now? I generally don't just start typing willie-nillie without a view of how I'd like it to turn out in the end, but then sometimes I do . . . Well this one had a plot. I'm rambling now someone stop me. I have a story to write!**

Aryll arrived home just in time to see the tax man leave, and a good thing too. She didn't want to deal with that right now (besides, she didn't think she could go on living in that house without her mother and she had used that month's tax money to buy a horse and information) all she wanted to do was open that drawer. She had never been more cerous as to what was in it than now. Merely weeks before she suspected a secret candy stash, now she was sure that such a ridiculous notion had to be incorrect. But then, her mother had been known to hoard odd things such as simple beads, broken bottles and old horse shoes . . .

She patted her new horse, suddenly nervous for some reason. What if it was something bad? Her mind flew to a distant memory of when she broke an egg. Perhaps her mother found out and had her punishment hidden away in there? She turned the key over in her hands, it was a simple key, though old and slightly rusted on the handle. No mysterious designs were carved into the handle, when turned this way or that, it did not look like any mythical creature representing something-or-other. It just looked like a key. No matter how simple a key, she could not shake the feeling that she held the beginning of her destiny in her hands.

She looked nervously at her own front door. "What do you think?" Aryll whispered to her horse. "Do you think I should open it?" The horse blinked at her, slightly nickered and nodded its head as if to encourage her. "You think so, do you? You wanna know what's in it to, huh?" The horse stamped its hoof and nudged its head against her neck. Aryll smiled at this seemingly affectionate gesture. "I like you, what should I call you?" The horse looked her in the eyes expectantly. "Hmmmm . . . I'll call you . . . May!" The horse nudged her back as if to say 'Get going!'.

Feeling oddly comforted, she started forwards. She breathed in deep and opened the door. Nothing had changed, all was the same as was when she had left it in the morning. The small cramped space between the sleeping quarters and kitchen was still small and cramped. The window in the back was still covered by thick curtains. The drawer was still locked and mysterious. She squeezed the key in her hand, apprehensive again. Hands shacking, she inserted the key into the lock and turned. She opened it slowly, her suspicions greater then her curiosity.

However, when she opened it, she found only a letter and some ruppies. She could read, her mother had made sure of that, probably just for that reason. She opened the letter with haste, hands shacking worse than ever.

'Aryll,

If you're reading this note, then I'm either dead or dying. I'm sorry for that. I know this probably isn't a time for any more shock, but you must learn this. You have a brother Aryll, I, as you know, am not your real mother. I can't tell you how much I regret the happenings of this story or how muck I'd like to change about it. You must know I love you all the same, please forgive me for what I have done . . . '

As the story progressed, the sadder she became. She felt like she had lost her mother twice that day. No, two mothers in one twenty-four-hour period. The one who raised her and the one who birthed her. She left her one time home with her head hung low. She just didn't know what to do. Her mother had given her instructions, 'Find your brother Aryll', but where to start looking? Why did this matter? 'I want you to have a better life and home . . . ' What was wrong with the life and home she had been living in? Just because she found her brother doesn't mean he'd accept her, or believe her, or take her into his family anyway!

She stopped to kick the dirt. _Stupid._ She thought to herself. _This whole thing is stupid._ Her horse trotted along side her making little clucking noises every once in a while. She yawned. The sun was starting to rise again. She heard some coocoos making a racket, triggering a learned instinct to feed them. She almost laughed, a sad smile perched awkwardly on her yung, round face. _Here they come again, stupid tears._ And sure enough, small drops rolled down her face. She mounted May and sighed.

"Take me away . . . " were her only instructions, and the horse understood.


	6. Chapter 6

**I rather dislike school, it's cutting into my fiction writing time, a lot. It's good for learning, not good for typing non-school related stories . . . like this one . . . **

_There he was, in all his shining glory. He wore a dirty, green tunic and a matching, pointed hat that looked like it had been dropped into (and ripped apart by) a pack of hungry wolves, then sewn back together. Dirt not only claimed his cloth, but his skin too. Dirt and blood were spread over his cheeks like natural war paint. His hair was no better, you could just make out that it was blonde between streaks of mud. Despite his humble, poor appearance and dire need for a bath, she thought seeing him stand before her was the most beautiful sight she was likely to ever see in her entire life. She had found him, her brother . . . _

The harsh winds rudely interrupted her pleasant dream. She did not curse it for disrupting her sleep, it was only a dream after all, she'd have to wake from it eventually. The ground beneath her shifted, it moved as if it were a walking animal . . . Aryll blinked. Amazingly, she must have dozed off while riding. She had no idea as to where she was. Her stomach growled noisily. She rummaged around in her sack and produced a hard biscuit. It wasn't much, but she'd need to save food, she didn't know how long she'd be wandering for.

She was trotting along a little stream, a tributary to a grander river. She looked she was coming to a bend in the stream, it was disappearing into a rock cavern, from it the sounds of the little creek giggling could be heard. She was intrigued but hadn't the proper equipment to explore. She heard from a family of wandering gypsies that beyond the darkness and in an under water cave was the royal central for the Zorian race. She had only seen a Zora once, it was beautiful. She could hardly tell if it was a male or female by its delicate features, she only made out that it was male by his deep voice.

She turned away. She would have to save exploration for another day far, far, in the future. Dejected and disappointed, she continued her trot. The only way _she_ was getting down there was through strong majic. For the time she could let her mind wander. Then without warning, she perked up immediately, or, just as soon as her horse started to run as if hell its self was rallying against her. With no particular destination in mind, May ran, weaving back and forth, some times making sharp turns almost throwing Aryll off.

The only thing to do was hold on. She was on a path and in the distance, illuminated by the slowly setting sun, a castle. She would have found the sight pretty was she not clinging desperately to a run away horse. She found it approaching faster then comfort would have allowed. Her human eyes could now see a draw bridge, a single entrance was looming ominously above her far too soon, a guard who demanded halt's (the king was allowing no more visitors or travelers for the night, they had important guests at the castle and security was necessary) words were nothing but a blur of sound; his surprised face nothing but an unusual blend of skin and armor. Then she was in the emptying market center. Few were still out to see a little girl, wide-eyed and poised awkwardly upon a young, agitated horse and those who did thought little of it. Why should they? A wild horse in the hands of an inexperienced rider could potentially be a deadlier concoction then explosives near fire. At her age it was expected that something would go wrong with out supervision.

So, about twenty witnesses to her horse's unusual behavior went on working, cleaning away the lasts of a profitable day in preparation for the next to come. Aryll, frightened and shaken, slid stiffly from May who was now, quit thankfully, calm again. Her flash of panic leaving as soon as it came. The lack of reaction from the people was both relieving and discerning. Aryll was more inclined to give into the former rather than the latter.

It was cold, she had noticed for the first time. She had no money left (she had given in to the gypsies' pressuring and had her palm read for a fee) so staying at an inn was a luxury she would have to do with out. Her eyes wandered (as did her feet) seeking out a suitable corner for her to roll up in. The hours passed with no findings and, eventually, the problem occurred to her that she had no place to keep May safe and dry. She didn't have a ruppie to keep her in a stable and a horse couldn't wander around alone, theft was a very real threat to Aryll.

She pondered this predicament as she walked (May at her heels) down a fairly deserted back ally. She hadn't seen anywhere more able to accommodate her thus far (it was now quit late, she had seen much of the city), she settled herself in a little sheltered pile of crates and May settled herself next to it. She wasn't comfortable, but it would have to do, her eyelids felt like lead, they were going to shut here or somewhere less sheltered. As the last thoughts drifted lazily out of her head, she could have sworn she saw his green hat taunting her around the corner. She would find him yet, she would. She find her brother...

Aryll woke up with the coo-coos that morning screaming and hurt, just as disturbed as May was. She had been dreaming again, but this time it wasn't nice, it wasn't refreshing or relieving. It was frightening. She had been dreaming about death again, she knew (even in the realm of night mares) that this bode no good. She had dreamt of death before and found her mother not so alive and not so well. Only this time, it was her brother. She watched with horror as foes of unimaginable strength relentlessly attacked, letting up for nothing but their own demise. She watched him valiantly destroy his assailants over and over again, knowing in her mind that he would eventually slip up and then they would use their trump card. She could feel it, lounging in the shadow just out of sight. Waiting, simply waiting for that slip up, for a chance to raise it's horrible claw and snuff out her brother's precious life.

It happened, she watched it happen. A unwittingly placed jab where blocking was in order. It moved with surprising eagerness in contrast to it's earlier patients. She couldn't let it be, she couldn't let it happen. She wasn't going to lose the last thing she had left. She wasn't going to mess up on the last thing her mother ever asked of her. She needed him to stay alive, for every ones' sake but the monster's. "NO!" She had screamed and started running after it before she even knew what she was doing. She leaped out catching the strike that would kill her brother before it landed, taking a blow to her own shoulder in his stead. Curious eyes were upon her as the act was for filled, but not the monster's eyes. No, those were still staring intently at it's original pray. Aryll had looked past it's frightening facade to see nothing but a puppet, she had looked past the puppet to see the puppet master. For a moment her whole body trembled with true fear, her eyes filled with nothing but Evil's gaze. For that moment before she woke, bleeding from the shoulder and finding May in a frenzy again, she knew that it wasn't really a dream.


	7. Chapter 7

**I've been so busy lately! I stupidly decided to start _another_ story! (That makes three including this one.) I was going to write this chapter of _The Seven Years_ before Christmas, but then I both got lazy and put my school work first. (Which is odd, one would think I would indulge in a more enjoyable way to pass my time but I guess I can't complain; I got my homework done at least... But then, I was lazy so I'm not sure about the quality it was in... But you don't care about that, you're not reading this story to hear about my personal life, are you, now?) Well, I can write now, so here it is!**

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There were curious faces poking from door ways and windows, it was much to early for all the racket. A man stuck his face in-between the empty boxes (the source of the noise), confused at first and then amazed that the not only horse fit, but there was enough room for a girl!

"Eh-ah, girl! Why so young a one sleepen' in a pile 'a crates and not at home? What's all the noise, too, this mornin'? Wife and I got a babe, no wanten' for him to wake now... By! Look at tha' shoulder! No wonder you were screamin'!" He said in a thick accent. He was a hefty man, all muscle. He dressed in a red faded tunic and dark colored pants. He wore heavy boots and a leather strip with a small wooden pendent dangled from his neck as he leaned over her, patting May to the side as best as he could.

"A nasty wound, where such a one comin' from? Don't see any blood on the boxes, even tha' broken one... None on the animal either, tha' a puzzler now, isn't it?" Aryll blinked at the man in front of her, slightly confused by her surroundings. "Com'on now, we're ganna get you together, a bandage for it, stop the bleedin' an' clean it up." He pulled her to her feet. She glanced around absently, barely noting the pain that shot through her shoulder as the man gently handled her.

"Soya! Get your clean rags! Screamer is hurt! Clean'er up!" Aryll was half carried into his house in a daze. The man's kindness was to be expected of any Hylian but it was in stark contrast to her previous experience. The evil was seared to the insides of her eyelids and she glimpsed it every time she blinked her slow heavy blinks. Her senses caught up with her surroundings at a snail's pace.

"May. . . I don't have any money to keep her in the stables. . ."

"Don't you worry, your horse is fine. Now darlin', could you promise to sit still for a moment? It may sting, but I need you to just sit still." A woman's voice startled her, the film over her mind had not permitted her to notice that she was no longer out side, she was just now finding that she was bleeding heavily. She stared up at the new face and nodded, agreeing without recognition. The woman brought a rag dipped in a healing potion up to the seemingly cursed gash. She had tried to stop the bleeding by the normal physical means, but to no avail. She had even tried stitching her back up like a little doll but her body burnt away the all threads and eventually the needle as well. The wound was obviously made by no ordinary blade and would require magical assistance to heal at all. The woman brought the rag down softly but pulled away quickly when a slight sizzling sound was made at contact. She looked at the rag and glanced at her husband quizzically, who was now tending to a happily gurgling baby. Her eyes found their way back to the blood covered form of Aryll's arm when much to her surprise and great relief, saw that the place of contact had healed and slowed the flow of bleeding. She dabbed at it gingerly, despite it working, she did not like the noises it made when it touched her. She looked at the girl in front of herself staring absently at the opposite wall.

"Darlin'?" She asked tentatively. The girl made no verbal response but turned her head slightly, she wasn't sure if she had truly heard her or not, but she was willing to make her chances. "Darlin'," she started again, "do you know who would do such a thing to you?" Aryll's eyes slowly came to meet her's, she blinked and then responded.

"Yes." She leaned in closer, waiting for Aryll to continue, when she didn't, she asked again.

"Who, honey?" Aryll made no immediate response. "Who did this to you?"

". . . She wanted to kill him, not me. But she wants to now. . ."

"Who, darlin'?"

"The evil one." Try as she might, she could coax no more from Aryll; and ponder it though she did, she couldn't make out what on earth the little one was talking about. Her troubled husband put a hand on his troubled wife's shoulder, startling her from her perplexity.

"Maybe, you should stay with us for a while." he suggested and his wife concurred, maybe she should.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaalllllyyyyy sorry I haven't updated in an eternity! I got all caught up in other things! ...Like high school! I wanted to finish it! I also had really, **_**really**_** bad writers block. I shouldn't be making excuses though... (sorry ) I haven't abandoned this, I just wanted all you faithful (like there are any of those left) readers to know that, and thanks for reading and also, being so patient! **

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Aryll had lived with her new 'guardians' for five days now. It had been decided that they'd keep her there for good on the second day of her stay. Their names were Soya, Zeltar and Cassandra, their daughter, they were nice people who were worried about her, she never said much, a "thank you" or an "excuse me" were the most she said the majority of the time. The other times were dedicated to horrific prophetic discouraging, most of which they thought were resulting from the traumatic experience, others expressed personal down falls and flaws of theirs' that were eerily accurate. They feared that she really had been touched by evil. They watched her constantly, fearing that her mental stability may impair her ability to function with others.

They didn't want to think that she was crazy, they didn't want to think that she was inept or impaired. They wanted to think that she'd get better. She showed no signs of improvement but then, she didn'tshow any signs of regression. They hoped that was a good sign. Apart from that, she was perfectly healthy. She had no bumps or bruises (credit to the potion she drank once a day) despite the labor she preformed. She did household chores, cleaning mostly. Neither Soya nor Zeltar asked her to do most of them, she did them out of reflex. Work had been so much a part of her life at her home, it was a comfort to her. She needed the therapy.

Soya would find her staring at Cassandra from time to time, and often she would offer to let her hold her, but every time she refused. As time progressed as Aryll gazed upon the child, she developed a solemn regretful look. When asked why, her response was just as somber:

"Because she's going to die. . ." Was the only thing she would say on the matter, she wouldn't give any further expiation. They couldn't keep the fear out of their thought whenever she said such thing, because, what if she was right? The days they were together grew in numbers, at least 16 days had passed since she came, but never did she relax. Never did she sit down and talk, never did she start to (even unintentionally) reveal her past, never cried, never screamed, never whinnied, she didn't even speak at all most days; so it was with reluctance that Zeltar brought to his new family the latest bit of unsavory gossip.

As he had come home, he was grim. Unable to find a suitable time to break the news. The evening was pleasant enough, Soya had even coaxed a smile out of Aryll earlier, but nothing could quell his anxiety. As "bed time" came for their infant daughter and their permanent house guest, he finally decided it was time. He looked sadly at his wife, humming a nameless tune and swaying her hips happily to the melody as she tidied up the mess created from the after-dinner rump about the house. He breathed in deep and steadied his sad heart.

"Soya." He called decisively.

"Hmmm, yes?" He sang contentedly back, still swaying even though she had stopped her humming. His resolve faltered at such a happy response. Perhaps the rumors really _were_ only rumors after all... But no, he had seen the devastation, the injuries, the; well, the evil! He had seen it with his own two eyes! He had to go through with this...

"Soya, I thinkin' we should leave town!" He said quickly wanting to get it out before he changed his mind. She froze, looking confusedly at her love.

"But why?" She asked. "You said this was a great place to live and raise a family... We only just got here! And where would we go to now?" She had stopped bouncing about and put her arms down, which she had begun to wave to the beat of music only she could hear only moments before.

"We'll go to Kakariko, before..." His voice became weaker, "before anyone get hurt..." He finished quietly.

"Hurt?" Soya questioned alarmed, unconsciously protecting the door the children were sleeping behind. "What are you...?" She trailed off.

"Now, I know it seem unreasonable, movin' an' all... But, the rumors are enough to send any-a man packin'! But then I seen... I seen it, Soya! I seen it! There be a man... And then there be a beast! There be a chil' an' then there be not but their shoes! Soya, I don' wanna be no beast, and I don't wanna see no Cassandra or no Aryll be all gone but their shoes!" He was starting to cry now, making his already slurred speech worse. He was shaking and crying and somewhere in his tirade he had grabbed Soya's wrists and hugged them close to his chest. "And worse, Soya, it gotten worse! People start goin' to the castle and thems people don' come back. Somein' say some news o' Princess Zeld' bein' worried, an' they gone missin'! I don' know what to say 'round no one no more! Don' know where friends goin' to! I wanna see ya'll bein' 'live an' well. None you get hurt... None yo' lives taken... None you...!" He was rambling now, his white-knuckled fists relaxing grip on Soya's small wrists. Soya (in a surprising feet of strength) pulled her hands out of Zeltar's, the lack of pain around her wrists a testament to her own resilience to it. She calmly looked him in the eyes, she had to get to the bottom of this, knowing her husband was easily scared despite his rather burly appearance.

"Could it have been some street performers?" She asked in a slow, low tone.

"No'm, they be jus' walkin', jus' people, jus' walkin'." He said wide-eyed and through a now stopped up nose.

"Could this be the work of some clever Gerudos, trying to pick-pocket some startled passer-by?" She asked in the same tone.

"No'm, they be no Gerudo. Even if they be Gerudo 'bout, they cry'in' same as I... No majic of no thief... Evil majic, Soya, evil!" His hands started to shake again. Soya took them in an attempt to settle them.

"I believe you, we shall leave in the morning..." Soya let go and moved as if to leave Zeltar's side but Zeltar held her back.

"No, we leave now, before the man realizes we been missin' and take the chill'uns." Soya looked at him questioningly. "They say... They say the castle already been taken. The Thief King got 'em. And the Thief King hate Hylian, an' he kill all, an taken Hyrule." Soya just looked into Zeltar's eyes and knew the truth. She silently nodded her head and left to wake Aryll and retrieve Cassandra. They were going to leave now.

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Aryll writhed in her sleep, wordlessly calling for help like she did every night. In her mind, she saw the people, the people who didn't leave quick enough. She saw Zeltar and Soya and Cassandra in Soya's arms, screaming for all it's worth. She saw the monster, the one that plagued her every dream- a bowsman this time. She watched it load and pull back the bowstring, she watched it aim, she watched if fire. As she feared, as she knew, the arrow flew straight and hit it's target, the unhappy infant screamed one last time, but her screams were drown out by that of her mother's. She couldn't look away, she couldn't close her eyes. She saw the blood all over Soya's dirty pink dress, she saw the arrow stuck through the limp body of the baby, she saw the child being cradled by her mother; smearing the blood even more across her upper body, and then saw the child being dropped to the ground. She saw the bowsman vanish as Zeltar looked about wildly and tearfully for the one responsible. Trying in vein to find some one to blame. She saw, and _felt_ their pain. Zeltar's eyes locked with hers and moved down to her left hand, his mouth screwed up in an attempt to with-hold a scream. Why couldn't she do anything? Why couldn't she move? She looked at her feet and noticed something horribly. She trembled at the thing she was clutching. A tear slid down her face. She was holding a bow. She was the one, she...

She woke up to gentle shacking. "Aryll." Whispered a woman's voice. "Aryll wake up..." She opened her eyes, realizing she not done so yet. The woman seemed satisfied and left her side, picking up the sleeping baby. "We're leaving, pack some clothing ands take nothing else, we won't need it."

"Soya...?" Aryll said. Soya turned around surprised and looked at her. She was not accustomed to Aryll speaking so.

"Yes...?" She asked breathlessly.

"I saw the rest of it... Watch out for a bowsman, he'll try to shoot Cassandra..." Was all she said and then she did as she was told, taking only the large tunic and leggings Zeltar had given her. Soya looked troubled and then snuggled the child closer, believing Aryll despite of herself. She then did something rather unusual, she smiled.

"Aryll, I think we will need something else..." She turned and left the dark room.

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They scurried out of their home, very few parcels on them to slow them down. They were not alone, many people were leaving before it was to late. All fearful of the same rumor. A man, a woman, a child, and what seemed to be two babies (each parent holding one to their chest) were the subject of the beast that soared the sky. It watched them leave, the little girl take a horse from the stables from just inside the main gates. Yes, this was the target all right. The demon (for that's what it was) disappeared into the shadow, as swift as the wind, in pursuit of it's victim.

They were fleeing north-west to the small village of Kakariko, or as it guessed, for they _were_ moving in a north-western direction. The man and the woman clung to their precious parcels while the little girl galloped ahead pensively on a young horse, turning around nervously and racing back to the slow moving adults every once and a while. The demon slithered up to a hill, high above the little people, an easy perch for the skilled archer. The thing came as close to a smile as it's rotting lips would allow, and transformed, it's new shape a beautiful young woman with a bow. It looked down at them, doing exactly as was predicted of them. All actions perfectly choreographed to a point. All it (or she now) needed to do was aim and fire. As easy as that...

She pulled back her bow, an arrow materializing as she needed it. She looked down the hill at the woman, and aimed at her chest, or rather, at the bundle she was hugging to her chest, and fired. It flew, it hit, but the wrong target.

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Soya was shacking, what if it didn't work? What if her baby died anyway? What if she was fighting an unwinnable battle in Cassandra's stead? Better her then Cassandra. She had told nothing of her plan to Zeltar, and only told Aryll to the extent of her involvement. She had her doubts about wether she would make it to Kakariko, but she must! She must defy the death sentence that evil had ordered! Her heart was beating fast, she had a few fleeting thoughts about all the things she would never have again, all the things she had never done... But it was to late to regret. To late to worry about the future... She looked to the stars, she breather out, she let her eyes wander to the hill Lon-Lon Ranch was perched on. She saw the full moon making a halo around it. It was time...

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**Ooooooooooooo, cliff-hanger! Actually, kinda not... I don't think it's a very good ending. I **_**wanted**_** it to be a cliff hanger but I don't seem to be able to do that very well with this story... Well, please tell me what you think! Leave a review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! Legend's Legacy here! I feel guilty for not writing chapters for this story more often, I feel even worse now that some one reviewed! A lot of the time it gets overshadowed by the allure to make things slightly comical as I can do in my other two stories. (I try for more than a **_**tad**_** when writing one of them though, being under the "comedy" listing...) When I started to write this fic I had no idea how hard it would be to exclude those sorts of things! I'm not much of a drama person in real life either! I really must write this one on days that I'm feeling down and lately, that hasn't happened at all! Even though my parents are getting divorced and we're all broke, I'm still not sad! (Odd, isn't it!) So I'm sorry to any one who is still reading this for not updating for a very long time!!!**

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The mother was dead... But she had been cheated the life of the child. She had needed a pure soul to corrupt, to take, to twist around her own will. She wasn't strong enough yet to convince this soul, it had grown hard after years of hardship, it was not pliably in the least! Who would have warned them? Who would have known? No one, no one knew. The Gold ones themselves had put aside their memories of her. That was what made her weak.

She had never believed Nayru when she had said that knowledge was power, not until it was to late. Too late to realize that the gods lived to serve the people, not the other way around, to late to realize that useless and hatted gods faded into nothingness when all memories and reverence withered and died. Too late to realize that without the people, the they were mere mortals.

The woman closed her fist around the bow in her hand and it disintegrated back into which it came. There could be others to fill the child's place, but it had taken weeks to get power enough for this, her servant was most draining. It was difficult to sustain him, shelter him, control him, and contain him to his one form all at oncebut now that her chance to gain an innocent life was extinguished, she needed him alive and well. She needed him to regain what she had lost all those manny years ago... She swayed suddenly, realizing how much energy she had lost, and lost for nothing. She looked out at her lost prey and saw it; a girl, that damned girl, she glowed with devine light, golden and beautiful. She let a low moan escape from her lips, she would end this girl, end her for interfering, for knowing but giving no power, she snarled and she was gone.

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Zeltar let out a tremendous wail, his cries pointed at the heavens. He had since dismounted his horse and fallen to his knees. One hand was clutching at Soya's limp body and the other cradling their child, her upset shrieks mingling with the ones of her father.

Aryll had neither dismounted her horse nor cried out as Soya fell, she had felt it coming, seen it in her dreams. That was not to say that she was not crying, the tears came down in slow steady lines, almost calmly dripping down her face. She could not watch the grown man scream in pain, she could not look at the dead body he was grasping at. She turned her horse away quietly and walked her towards Kakariko. She would not have the pain any more... She looked back only once and saw it, saw it again, the thing, the evil.

It was where she said it would be, with the bow she said she'd have. Aryll heard the groan escape her lips and saw the snarl grace her lips and knew that she had upset the thing, knew that she would be next. Then it was gone, and Aryll ran.

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Short, criminally so. But, it'll have to do...


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